[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 47 (Tuesday, April 3, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E527-E528]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       TRIBUTE TO FORMER MICHIGAN STATE REPRESENTATIVE MIKE PRUSI

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BART STUPAK

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, April 3, 2001

  Mr. STUPAK. Mr. Speaker, I would like to pay tribute to Mike Prusi, a 
former representative to the Michigan House of Representatives from the 
109th Representative District, which is made up of two counties, 
Marquette and Alger, in my congressional district.
  Mike was first elected to the House in a special election in May 
1995, following the death of one of Michigan's great legislators and 
great spokesman for northern Michigan, Dominic J. Jacobetti. Mike has 
just concluded his service in the Michigan House because of the 
Michigan term limits law. This law was enacted at the will of the 
voters of Michigan, but I have to confess that in this case I believe 
the law has turned an excellent public servant out of office.
  Mr. Speaker, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where Mike and I are 
from, is an area rich in natural wealth and scenic beauty. It is also 
an area that, because of its sheer size, offers a wealth of diverse 
social and political

[[Page E528]]

issues. Because its population is sparse, however, its representation 
in Lansing is meager in numbers.
  Spokesmen for this region must stand taller and speak more eloquently 
than their downstate counterparts. Mike served on the important 
Appropriations Committee in the Michigan House and, like Dominic J. 
Jacobetti before him, was an outstanding spokesman for the region.
  Mike brought a profound understanding of the region with him when he 
went to Lansing. He was born in his district, was schooled there, and 
became an iron mine worker, eventually becoming president of a 
Steelworkers local. Like the red dust that coats the clothing of 
miners, Mike carried the innate strength, pride and independence of 
Upper Michigan residents to his job as a state representative.
  There have been many important issues affording us an opportunity to 
work together. The round of military base closures under the BRAC 
Commission in the early 1990s affected a base in the Upper Peninsula, 
in the heart of what would become Mike's district. Fighting to revive 
this economic heart of the Upper Peninsula has been one of our major 
efforts and concerns.
  Today, we face the problem of illegal imports of steel--raw materials 
and finished projects--which have jeopardized the health of the U.S. 
steel industry. These illegally dumped products affect the entire 
industry, beginning with the very mines where Mike has worked. We are 
again joined in an important economic battle, this time to protect jobs 
and our vital national steel industry, from mining to final rolling of 
finished steel.
  I wish Mike and his wife Sandra the best in his post-legislative 
career. He has my deep respect and friendship. The people of Michigan 
were well-served by Mike Prusi. They will miss him. I will miss him.

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